My Summer Reading List and Boy You Have a Lot Of…

26Jun12

Wow, great responses to yesterday’s question. It’s nice to see that so many people are still actually reading books. I was able to pick up quite a few recommendations from people. In case you missed it, yesterday’s question was:

What is the one book you’ve read recently or are reading now that you would recommend to someone?

There were several different titles people brought up, but “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn came up most often. I have had a number of people recommend this one to me previously, and I did already have it on my reading list of things I hope to read this summer. As I stated yesterday, I have a huge stockpile of books right now that I have ready to go and to read. I find it takes me a lot longer to get through a book currently than it did in the past. I hadn’t gotten so used to reading thousands of pages a week when I was studying for my Master’s degree in English that I told myself when I was done that I would take my time in reading things and read what I really wanted to, not what the course curriculum and syllabus said I had to read. Now, with work and taking care of Sean and the house and everything else that life throws at you, I find I don’t have as much time to read as I used to, (although I am sure if I spent less time blogging and doing blog-related stuff, I would have more time) but I think I need to resolve to give myself at least 45 minutes a day to read something so I can start attacking some of these books. Anyway, in no particular order, these are some the books I currently have around that I plan to read:

11/22/63 by Stephen King – I have read a lot of Stephen King, and find I am often disappointed in how he ends a book or story, but the plot line of this one intrigues me.

the imperfectionists by Tom Rachman – this one centers around the lives of people working for an English language newspaper in Rome and looks to have a quirky, funny story line to it.

The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco – I have sworn to myself that before I die I will get through one of Eco’s books. I have read several of his essays and literary criticisms, but his novels always seem to weigh me down. Several times I have started both “The Name of the Rose” and “Foucault’s Pendulum” and have given up. This one involves 19th century Europe and the Freemasons and conspiracy. It all sounds intriguing and I’ll have to see how I do with it. This one is actually next on my reading list.

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk – from the author of “Fight Club,” this one sounds really good. It focuses on a 13 year-old daughter of billionaire parents who dies of a drug overdose, wakes up in Hell and must endure a Hell’s version of the Breakfast Club and make her way to Satan like Dante’s “Inferno.” This one sounds really good to me.

I also have on my Nook “The Cat’s Table” by Michael Ondaatje, “Aleph” by Paulo Coelho, and I have “The Autobiography of Mark Twain” and about a dozen other books on my Nook that I got, along with some other hardcover books, so I have a lot to get through, but I am always looking for some new suggestions if you have any.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer and a special thanks to Rosie O’Donnell, Jose Bautista, Justin Turner, Beverly Mitchell, Christa Miller and R.L. Stine for taking the time to answer me on Twitter. I think we’ll move off the book questions for today and try something else, so let’s try this one and see what we can find out about each other:

Do you collect anything or have a particular hobby that you are passionate about?

We all have something like this that we like to do, whether it’s coin collecting, martial arts, old movie posters, swimming, cooking, the list can go on and on. What’s that thing you like to do that relaxes you or excites you, the hobby or collection you have had since you were a kid or something you started doing in your adult life. What’s that something that takes up a lot of room in your house, but you don’t care because collecting it or having it makes you happy? Think about it and let me know. You can answer on here, or on Facebook or on Twitter. I’ll also ask a few people on Twitter and see how they respond. I’ll post my answer tomorrow.

Time to get on with the rest of the day. I may post the next story installment tonight while I watch the Mets game, so you can check back later if you have been following along. Now go pick up that book and get back to reading, enjoy the rest of your day, and don’t forget to do something creative today!

Hobby or passion: gardening, in almost any form, since about 6 years old. I grew up being in charge of certain rows in my grandparent’s vegetable garden each summer. On my sixth birthday my grandmother gave me a simple six pack of marigold plants. I planted them and they flourished and after that I started collecting house plants. By the time I was ten I had 60 house plants in my bedroom of different varieties. I love herb gardening, perennial gardening, vegetable gardening. I did end up giving up all of my house plants after years of battling with my cats over them. I love the cats more than the houseplants, so the plants went. My other ‘hobby’. I like to wash windows and clean in general, so I’m always planning to clean or wash something or other as a way to spend some free time, not as a traditional chore.

I always love your comments Kim 🙂 I wish I had your passion (and the space and ability besides) to do gardening. I love growing my own herbs to use in my cooking and do with what little space we have to grow them, but I can tell you are very passionate about it. And why am I not surprised you have a thing for clean windows? 🙂